A number of non-rotating wheel cover designs have been developed over the years. However, such designs are usually overly complicated in structure, or do not in fact remain stationary at various vehicle speeds, or are difficult to remove and reinstall when servicing the vehicle wheel.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,195, granted Apr. 4, 2000, Okamoto, discloses a wheel cover which includes a fixable side fixture fixably mounted to the center of a wheel of a vehicle, so as to be able to position the cover to the central part thereof. A movable side fixture is pivotally mounted to the central part of the fixable side fixture through a bearing. A wheel cover body, substantially in the shape of a disc and mounted on the movable side fixture, has a space between itself and the wheel. A device for biasing the wheel cover body, in order to prevent integral rotation with the wheel, is included. A dynamo is mounted on the movable side fixture or wheel cover body and driven rotatably by rotating the wheel. The dynamo is mounted on the wheel cover so as to generate electricity by rotation with the wheel and wheel cover body mounted rotatably to the wheel when the vehicle is in motion. Electricity generated by the dynamo is used for illumination or transmission of an electro-magnetic wave, or the like, as power source.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,104, granted Sep. 19, 2000, Okamoto et al., discloses a wheel cover comprising a fixable side fixture fixably secured to the center of a wheel of a car. A movable side fixture is pivotably mounted to the central part of the fixable side fixture through a bearing. A wheel cover body in the shape of a disk is mounted orthogonally to the movable side fixture, having a space between the wheel. A weight is mounted to the movable side fixture or the wheel cover body, in order to prevent rotation of the wheel cover body so that people can see a design on the wheel cover body.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,529 B1, granted Sep. 2, 2002, Williams, discloses an image-holding assembly which is intended for mounting over a wheel of a motor vehicle. The assembly has a base plate for attaching to the wheel, a non-rotatable disk mount coupled to the base plate and a disk cover secured to the non-rotatable disk mount. The disk cover carries a text, design or other desired image. The disk cover does not rotate with the wheel. The image remains discernable regardless of whether the vehicle is parked or is traveling along a roadway.